The application control mentioned above is a technique to perform decoding of AV streams and execution of applications in parallel.
Interactive applications designed to operate in conjunction with the AV playback include, for example, applications for realizing a game that is synchronized with video and audio of the main part of a movie, and applications for realizing online shopping during the playback of the main part of a movie by establishing connection with an external server via a telephone line, the Internet or the like. The added value of the playback apparatus is increased when such interactive applications are chosen as the execution objects.
Due to such interactive applications, the user more often controls application programs with a remote control or the like than before. Also, to control various application programs such as games and programs for online shopping, more complicated operations are required than before.
The following Patent Documents 1 and 2 discloses techniques to improve the operability of playback apparatuses.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-134472
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2002-223408